News & Events

ARS Recieves Exemplary Rating from the Texas Education Agency

The Ann Richards School received an Exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency for the 2009-2010 school year. Ratings are based on student test scores on TAKS exams. Congratulations to our students and dedicated teachers for this extraordinary accomplishment!

Jeanne Goka on the cover of Austin Woman Magazine

Ann Richards School Principal, Jeanne Goka, is featured in the August 2010 Issue of Austin Woman Magazine. Read more about our fearless leader and how her leadership is critical to the success of our students.

ARS Students Making the News this Summer

ARS student Amanda Rife was selected as a finalist in the Lights Camera Help 2010 Film Festival. Her film - The Future of Education - highlights the Ann Richards School and was selected from 235 submissions. Amanda is the youngest filmmaker to be selected. See the Fox7 coverage here! Watch The Future of Education here.

Incoming 9th grade student Shelby Westbrook qualified to compete in the National Junior Olympics in the shotput this summer. See her interview on news8austin here.

Check out the video tour of Austin made by ARS student, Jendayi. It was featured on the Smart Girls at the Party Web site!
Find more videos like this on Smart Girls at the Party

Jill DiCuffa Honored as AISD Middle School Teacher of the Year!

Ann Richards is proud to announce that Jill DiCuffa, 8th grade history teacher, has been honored as AISD's middle school teacher of the year.

Three Austin Teachers of the Year for their respective grade levels were selected from more than 100 nominees at schools chosen at the campus and grade levels by colleagues, and by selection committees composed of administrators, parents, and professional association representatives. One of these finalists will be honored as AISD Teacher of the Year on May 19th. Congratulations, Jill!

See the KVUE coverage here!

ARS Students Win Scholarships!

We are so excited to announce the results of the 2010 $mart Kid Essay Contest presented by Capital One Bank! Students from all over Central Texas, grades 6-12, recently participated in this scholarship essay contest. Students were asked to write essays about their career goals and how they use wise money management skills to reach those goals. Finalists were selected and conducted interviews with a panel of local business leaders. The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders proudly accepted FIRST place in both the middle school and high school competition!!! Andrea received 1st place in middle school, receiving $1,000. Denise received 1st place in high school, receiving $4,500.

Both young ladies wrote amazing essays and impressed the judges with their confidence and poise during the interview process. What a great start to their college savings and to the many more scholarships our ARS girls will continue to receive.

ARS Recognized for Achievement in Central Texas

The Austin American Statesman published a story highlighting the work of the Ann Richards School and Principal Jeanne Goka, naming ARS one of the most improved schools in Central Texas. The study used the most recent figures available and considered student scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, attendance and participation on college entrance exams and advanced courses.

Read the story here!

Congratulations, Jill DiCuffa, AISD Middle School Teacher of the Year!

On Wednesday, April 14th, AISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen surprised ARS 8th grade history teacher Jill DiCuffa with the news that she had been selected as AISD's Middle School Teacher of the Year. Ms. DiCuffa was selected out of more than 100 nominees, and will be in the running with the other two finalists as the district teacher of the year, to be decided in a ceremony on May 19th.

Ms DiCuffa says that she knew that she wanted to be a teacher, and "wanted to be the kind of teacher that challenges students to think, gets them excited about History because they are directly involved in it, and holds them to the absolute highest level of expectations.”

We are so proud to have Ms DiCuffa as a teacher at ARS!

Austin Schools Celebrate Youth Art Month

In celebration of Youth Art Month 2010 , more than 1,500 works of student art — representing 110 elementary, middle, and high schools — will be displayed in a public show, April 1-26, at One Congress Plaza, located at 111 Cesar Chavez. Painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, sculpture, collage, weaving, ceramics, photography, jewelry and electronic media are included in the art show. It will be open for viewing from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. A reception for exhibiting artists and their families will be held on Sunday, April 11.

We are so proud of the ARS students who have work displayed in the show. Congratulations to Erin, Celeste, Jessica, Alondra, Hollyn, Themmi, Rewon, Ally, Jessie, Blanca, Brianna, Raquel, Nadia, and Sabrina!

Hear more about the art show on KUT.

Latest News

ARS Students Recognized by Duke TIP!

On Tuesday, April 27th, Austin Independent School District honored six Ann Richards girls recognized by Duke University in its 2010 National Talent Identification Programat a Recognition Reception. The students’ selection is based upon scores the girls achieved on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in January-- a test designed as a rigorous college entrance examination for high school students in eleventh and twelfth grades. Six wonderful Ann Richards girls--Annalise, Karolyn, Isha, Mina, Erin, and Zawadi --will be honored at an awards ceremony at one of five Texas universities in May or June for achieving State Recognition. In addition, one of our Stars, Annalise, achieved Grand National Recognition. She will be honored at the Grand National Awards Ceremony held this summer in Cameron Indoor Stadium on the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina and receive a medallion as an acknowledgement of her tremendous achievement. We are so VERY proud of all of our 7th grade students who participated in the Duke TIP talent search!!!

ARS Video Featured on Good Morning America!

Students created a short film wishing Sandra Bullock luck at the Oscars and highlighting the reasons they admire her. The video was featured on Thursday, March 4th on Good Morning America. See the clip here and see the full video below.

Bullock, who was awarded an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side, was a founding member of the Ann Richards School Advisory Board and early supporter of the school. See coverage of the film here:
Austin American Statesman
Fox News Austin

Austin Women in Techonology Annual Conference

The Austin Women in Technology hosted a Women's Business Conference , held February 19, 2010 at the Norris Conference Center in Austin. This year’s theme was “Soaring to Success”, and featured two keynote speakers including Colleen Barrett, President Emeritus for Southwest Airlines, as the Afternoon Keynote Speaker, and Cathy Bonner, President at the Bonner Companies, speaking in the morning keynote session on “The Ten Commandments for Success”.

Ann Richards School students particpated in and volunteered at the conference, where they had the opportunity to learn about the careers of successful women in our community. We were fortunate to be a featured organization at the conference!

A very special guest speaker...

Gail Collins, New York Times columnist, made a special appearance at the Ann Richards School on Friday, October 30th. During her time at ARS, she spoke to the students about women's progress since the beginnings of the modern Feminist Movement in the 1960's. Her recent book,When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present, examines the fight for women's equality through the stories of those who were part of that history.

Congratulations to Shara Henderson

for making All-Region Honor Orchestra!  All-Region Clinic/Concert is Nov 19-21 @ Westlake PAC.

Congratulations to the following Stellar Orchestra members:

Raven Moreno, Shara Henderson, Sara Calvo, Sofia Hruby, & Alana Calles for Making All-City Honor Orchestra!  All-City Clinic/Concert is Oct. 19 & 20 with a concert on the 20th @ 7:00pm at Austin HS.

ARS Students Watch the President's Speech

The front page of the Statesman featured a photo of our girls watching the President's speech to students.

News 8 also featured ARS including an interview with Jeanne Goka and an ARS student.

Girl Power: Austin Woman Magazine Features ARS

ARS was featured in Austin Woman Magazine this month along with an ad thanking the sponsors of the Birthday Bash. Thanks to Austin Woman - one of our media sponsors for the event.

The Dear Michelle Project

This summer, Ann Richards School students participated in the Dear Michelle Project. They produced short films based on letters they wrote to Michelle Obama about issues they'd like to see change in our country.

Films by two Ann Richards School students - Amanda and Annalise focus on education. They would like to see more girls have an opportunity to go to a school like the Ann Richards School!

For news about our student's achievements, see the Student News.

For more news stories, see the News Archive.

For press releases, see the Press Releases page.

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